Anning City Examination Center.
A line of bold, enlarged red text suddenly flashed across the big screen, like a bomb thrown into the crowd.
[Candidate Song Chen has applied to challenge a Third Rank beast.]
The entire hall fell silent in an instant.
Some people had yet to process it. "Challenge a Third Rank beast?"
"Aren't there only Second Rank beasts in the examination grounds?"
Someone explained, "It's that hidden event—the Third Rank beasts kept underground, specially prepared by the examination committee for those geniuses."
"Third Rank? What's his Vitality Value? He's going to fight a Third Rank beast?"
"He's crazy. He's completely crazy."
Elsewhere, guided by a drone, Song Chen had already arrived at an open clearing.
The ground trembled. A crack slowly split open, and a massive alloy cage rose from underground.
The cage was surrounded by energy bars as thick as arms, its top sealed shut. From inside came the drag of iron chains and the clash of metal.
A green blade-arm extended from the darkness, its edge glimmering with a ghostly blue light beneath the lamps.
Song Chen's pupils contracted slightly.
A mutant mantis—a Tier 3 Mutant Scythe-Blade Mantis.
When it emerged fully from the darkness, a chorus of sharp inhalations rose from the Examination Center.
It was over five meters long, its entire body covered in dark green armor plating, as though it wore a suit of armor.
Its head was triangular, its two compound eyes like dark red gems, reflecting Song Chen's figure.
Most terrifying was its pair of blade-arms. Each was two meters long, their edges thin as cicada wings and shining blue—a glance was enough to tell they carried deadly poison.
Its abdomen was swollen, its six legs gripping the ground firmly. The wings behind its back trembled softly, producing a teeth-aching